LEBANON TWP. — The owner of a commercial garage property and the township agree that underground fuel tanks should not be removed, barring an environmental issue.

Dewey Polt said he started the process of having the fuel tanks removed and put a $5,000 deposit down with a contractor because he had misunderstood that the township wanted him to remove the tanks.

Committeeman Ron Milkowski said the misunderstanding came about because the presence of underground fuel tanks automatically becomes "an area of concern" environmentally.

Polt said he over-thought it and came to the conclusion that the Committee wanted the tanks removed.

At its Jan. 18 meeting the Township Committee gave the go-ahead to perform a Phase I environmental study on the property.

At the May 16 Committee meeting Polt said Quest Environmental Services had just begun the study and the results will be ready in a few weeks.

The Committee agreed that the tanks should remain in place unless Quest found an issue with them.

Polt said the tanks should have a useful life for another 25 years.

He has also offered to sell the garage to the township for $1. Polt said he would like to have the garage named to honor his parents and grandparents. But he also said he offered it in part so the township would not have to build a new fueling station at the new public works garage they are building. "I don't see why we want to destroy this community asset," he said.

In other news the contractor that is building the oft-delayed public works garage is ready to get to work. Permits have been issued and equipment was delivered to the site. The contractor was just waiting for the weather to clear.